Posted on 01/24/2015 3:06:34 PM PST by grundle
A real-life “Home Alone” story of twin 9-year-old brothers in New Hampshire who managed to basically take care of themselves for a third of a year is in part a case of child endangerment, but also, upon closer inspection, a stunning tale of childhood ingenuity.
Few would agree with decisions made by the boys’ uncle, who told police he’d stop by every few days while the parents were on a trip in Africa. The parents, Jerusalem and Catherine Monday, left the United States in July, expecting to return in August. But they were delayed in Nigeria for another three months.
For their part, the boys transitioned from summer vacation into the school routine: They came home from school every day, ate snacks, watched TV until their failure to pay the cable bill got it shut off, did homework, got ready for bed, hopefully brushed their teeth, went to sleep, got up the next morning, got dressed, got on the school bus – all on their own. Neighbors say they regularly saw the boys and didn’t have any concerns about them.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I’ll always remember the Mother’s Day my son who had just turned 8 and his 5 year old brother came into the bedroom where I was still enjoying some rest. They had made breakfast for me. The older boy had made pancakes from scratch, trying to copy what he had seen me do a number of times, using whole wheat flour, milk, eggs, baking powder and butter, with some raisins thrown in too. He knew to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, before combining them, but he couldn’t figure out how I got the butter in. So he cut it into small pieces and added to the batter. Pancakes were delicious with little pockets of melted butter throughout. By nine, they would often wash their own laundry. When about 7 I was teaching them to cook. I would make soup or a stew, give them a little taste and have them smell herbs and spices and decide whether to add some. When he was 8 or 9 the younger boy decided to make chile, and flavored it with dill weed. Different, but good. They love to cook with their families and my grandchildren.
My son-in-law was apparently left at home on a regular basis for a week or so at about age 9 to 11 while his parents “got away,” and sometimes he had to watch his younger brother too. I think his parents were negligent and selfish to do that, but he doesn’t agree and wants to do the same with his children. My daughter won’t allow it, thankfully.
“(horse drawn wagon trips)”
My mother, now 97, rode to school on a horse. The boys left a rifle in their saddle, unless it was raining, and hunted on the way home. If they shot something they ate meat. If not, no meat. When I was young anybody could have bought a gun in K-Mart. No waiting. You could also mail order them from Sears, as I recall. The only restriction was they had a book you had to sign to buy ammo that required a driver’s license. My how times change.
Funny story. When Neil Armstrong was about to step foot on the moon I yelled into the kitchen, “Mom! Come here or you’ll miss it!” She yelled back, “I saw Orville and Wilber Wright perform at the Ohio State fair. This is nothing.”
Christian Nigerians are an exceptionally industrious bunch. I think they would take over the world if they weren’t stuck in Africa.
Well according to some...
it takes a village.
9 years old isn’t that young. I remember being left alone for a long time at home. My parent just left me with enough food/money to last the time they were away. Its not that big a deal imho
Nine-year-olds can be pretty self-sufficient, particularly if they have at least normal intelligence. They’re not dogs.
I was a latch-key kid myself. Although it would have been nice to have my mom around sometimes, I enjoyed it.
Amazing what little humans can do.
I was raised by wolves.
Mom objected at first and insisted on spending the week with us, but discovered we were capable one week when a neighbor reported we'd driven the tractor into town to buy some ice cream and go for a swim at the local lake.
Of course, we got scolded, but she understood we would have means to get into town if necessary.
Ahh. That explains it. :^)
I can see why.
I remember being 9 years old. People do not realize 9 year olds are NOT basket cases incapable of doing anything.
I think a lot of kids could actually care for themselves at age 9. I think the problems might arise if there was some sort of unusual problem that the kids didn’t know how to handle: a prowler, a medical emergency, etc. Also, I wonder how it affected them emotionally to know their parents had shrugged them off for so long — whether they felt empowered, or abandoned. I guess that would depend on the kid and the relationship with the parents.
I just have not met many decent Somalis. I know their out there.
Perhaps but don’t bet on it.
“”I wonder if the parents paid the utility bills in advance, but forgot about the cable.””
I wondered how they got the bills paid too....perhaps that was one way but how about rent? Did the uncle take care of that? Maybe the parents were in touch with him and he could handle some of that when they were delayed in returning.
They deserve lots of credit for getting along so well. So many bad things could have happened. They knew when summer vacation was over and school began. Lots of credit!
Automatic draft on the electric bill?
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